1st Bootcamp: A Day to Understand the Challenges Ahead

The first SoReDI Community of Practice Bootcamp created a collaborative workspace with young people to critically analyze how we experience, struggle with, and can transform digital environments. Far from framing technology as a neutral tool or as an individual problem of usage, the session allowed participants to view the digital ecosystem as a set of social, economic, technological, emotional, and cultural forces that shape everyday life. Through participatory activities, analysis of disruptions, work with the iceberg metaphor, and role-playing exercises, the groups began to formulate sociotechnical challenges that will serve as the foundation for the subsequent development of Sociotechnical Participatory Innovation Models.

The work was organized around three major challenges: connected loneliness, the design of attention and personal autonomy, and new digital communities. In both cases, the process enabled a shift from an initial, more intuitive or personal interpretation of the problems to a more structural understanding. Experiences of loneliness, distraction, anxiety, social pressure, and misinformation were no longer viewed as individual failings but rather understood as consequences of digital environments designed to retain, compare, accelerate, and monetize attention.

In addressing the challenge of “connected loneliness,” the groups identified a central paradox: being hyperconnected does not always mean feeling accompanied. Loneliness was understood as a structural phenomenon linked to the loss of in-person relationships, the pressure to fit in, constant comparison, the manipulation of images, and the influence of economic and political actors on the digital environment. The “iceberg” exercise helped connect everyday symptoms—such as spending an afternoon alone on one’s phone—to deeper patterns of consumerism, homogenization, and the attention economy. The role-play exercise highlighted that loneliness does not always stem from a lack of opportunities to connect, but rather from micro-decisions shaped by an environment that makes it easier to consume content than to maintain real connections.

The second challenge, focused on the design of attention and personal autonomy, explored how difficulty concentrating is not merely a matter of discipline. The groups analyzed how infinite scrolling, notifications, short videos, ragebait, the pressure to respond, and information overload fragment time, rest, and the ability to study. Attention emerged as a contested resource, shaped by business models that convert time into economic value. The dramatized scenes showed young people trying to study while their cell phones, notifications, and the feeling of falling behind competed for their attention. From this emerged an important insight: protecting one’s attention cannot depend solely on individual willpower, but requires collective environments, norms, and support systems.

The third challenge, regarding new digital communities, offered a more political perspective on online life. The groups questioned who decides what we see, what interests the platforms serve, and why many digital communities reproduce biases, hate speech, social pressure, or superficial forms of belonging. The challenge was reframed from a critique of “bad content” to a deeper question about community infrastructure: What conditions are necessary for a digital community to foster discernment, support, trust, and genuine connection? The envisioned scenario pointed toward less biased platforms, with verified user bases, a diversity of formats, critical thinking, and communities free of hate. The role-play featuring Maxine—a young woman who observes plans and interests from her bedroom but is unable to participate—captured a key tension: the digital realm offers possibilities for community, but often fails to provide the necessary bridges to become part of it.

One of the most significant contributions of the Bootcamp was the combination of systemic analysis and physical expression. The working tools did not remain confined to abstract discussion: turbulence helped identify external forces; the iceberg allowed us to delve deeper into patterns, causes, and normalized ideas; and micro-theater transformed these diagnoses into concrete situations, complete with conflicts, resistance, and points of intervention. This transition from Post-it notes to the stage made it possible to see where decisions get blocked, what invisible norms are at play, and at what point an alternative might emerge. Theater did not function as a final performance, but rather as a living research tool.

Overall, the first Bootcamp demonstrated remarkable methodological maturity. The alternative scenarios are not yet finalized prototypes, but that was not the purpose of the session. The main value of the process was building a shared, deep, and situated understanding of the digital challenges facing young people. The SoReDI Community of Practice emerges from this initial phase with three clear areas of focus, well-formulated dilemmas, and a solid foundation for further progress: how to reduce loneliness without imposing disconnection; how to protect attention without blaming young people; and how to imagine digital communities that are not based on capture, bias, or visibility, but rather on healing, discernment, and genuine belonging.